Newmont Corporation has forecast an increase in production at its Boddington gold mine in Western Australia for 2022, with higher gold and copper grades on the horizon.
The United States-based mining company also suggested efficiency improvements from its recently deployed autonomous haulage fleet will also benefit the production boost at Boddington.
At the same time, Newmont is expecting gold production to drop in 2023, anticipating the planned expansion of Boddington’s North and South pits to impact output temporarily.
Newmont projects approximately 900,000 ounces of gold to be produced from Boddington in 2022, while the company has forecast 500,000 ounces of gold to be produced from its Tanami gold mine in Northern Territory across the same timeframe.
This amounts to 1.4 million ounces of gold for the 2022 calendar year for Newmont’s two Australian operations, which sits within the guidance the company provided in its 2021 and longer-term outlook.
Newmont expects production at Tanami to remain steady until 2023, before an increase can be expected in 2024 once its Tanami expansion two comes online.
The company anticipates its gold cost applicable to sales (CAS) to be $US750 ($1068) per ounce at Boddington in 2022 and $US625 per ounce at Tanami.
There is the expectation that the gold all-in sustaining cost (AISC) will be $US860 per ounce at Boddington in 2022 and $US960 per ounce at Tanami.
Newmont believes its unit costs at Boddington and Tanami will remain steady going forward, which it owes to production volumes and improved underground efficiencies due to Tanami expansion two coming online.
The company forecasts total gold production to be at 6.2 million ounces for 2022, which it hopes to improve to between 6.2-6.8 million ounces by 2024.
“Newmont’s outlook remains strong as we steadily increase production and improve costs over time from our global portfolio of world-class assets located in top-tier jurisdictions,” Newmont president and chief executive officer Tom Palmer said.
“We are entering a period of significant investment in our organic project pipeline, an important component in growing production, improving margins and extending mine life, and we remain focused on delivering long-term value to all of our stakeholders through our ongoing commitment to sustainable and responsible mining.”